FeatureStack: Perl module for comparative visualization of gene features

Abstract

FeatureStack is a Perl module for the automatic generation of multi-gene images. FeatureStack takes BioPerl-compliant gene or transcript features as input and renders them side by side using a user-defined BioPerl glyph. Output images can be generated in SVG or PNG format. FeatureStack comes with a new BioPerl glyph, decorated-gene, which can highlight protein features on top of gene models. Used in combination, FeatureStack and decorated-gene enable rapid and automated generation of annotation-rich images of stacked gene models that greatly facilitate evolutionary studies of related gene structures and gene families. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.